FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DCC’s KIMPTON ENJOYS TOUCHING  

LIVES WITH NURSING PROGRAM

DANVILLE, VA, September 12, 2002 --- The little stuffed bear on a shelf in Paula Kimpton’s office at Danville Community College wears a sweater with the letters "LPN" contained within a heart.  This is because teaching is at the heart of everything Kimpton has done since she graduated from nursing school 27 years ago.

"I love teaching. I constantly learn from my students," said Kimpton, holding a coffee mug bearing the sentiment: "2 teach is 2 touch lives."

It is more than cute sentiment in the hands of Kimpton, who moved to Danville from Dayton, Ohio, three years ago and is now associate professor and nursing program director for Danville Community College’s practical nursing program.

DCC students hoping to become licensed practical nurses, which requires more training than certified nursing assistant but less than registered nursing, will find an 11-month course of study that is known for being rigorous and selective.

Today’s LPNs perform hands-on care of patients of all age levels in all kinds of settings, from hospitals to nursing homes and including pediatric and home health care. Some, but certainly not all, LPNs go on to become registered nurses, Kimpton said.

However, nearly 100 percent of DCC’s graduating practical nurses are hometown people who stay in the Danville area to work, Kimpton said, clearly pleased about this fact.

During a break from intense student interviews in late April, Kimpton described changes she has made to strengthen the LPN program at DCC, and talked about why it is so selective and rigorous.

"We are interviewing over 130 prospective students and accepting approximately 40," Kimpton said.

With so few spaces available, Kimpton interviews each candidate and bases her decision on the person’s past grades, academic background and how well they did in prerequisite classes. The timeliness of a student’s completion of required classes is also considered.

"We have a brand new curriculum for the fall, which I am excited about," she said.

While some LPN programs at other colleges are 18 months long, the program at DCC is 11 months. That means packing a lot of information into a short time span, Kimpton said, smiling.

"What we’ve tried to do by combining courses is help the students in everything from their comprehension to clinicals; with the goal being to help them pass the state licensing exam."

The LPN program is designed to equip students with the know-how and skills to pass the state exam, which is not easily done on the first try. If the DCC graduates do well on the tough state test, the logic follows that they will excel in finding a good job they enjoy.

The state nursing board sets the benchmark for successful nursing; what Kimpton does is translate those standards into comprehensive classes, like those on concepts of ethics and nursing history and trends. A new class Kimpton has added is terminology, which will help students break down medical words into more easily digestible -- and understandable -- segments.

Drawing on her many years of nursing experience in operating rooms, intensive care and neo-natal care, Kimpton zeroed in on what she thought needed tweaking in the LPN curriculum. For one thing, there are now nurse entrance tests to ensure students are academically prepared, so neither student nor teacher wastes time. This test helps weed out the unprepared students, certainly, but those who prove unprepared for the LPN program are not forgotten, Kimpton said.

"We’re really trying to lay the basis so students are prepared. If you’re not, we’ll help. We keep your welfare at heart," she said.

Thanks to the new "First Year Studies" certificate program, students who don’t get into nursing school on the first try can apply for this one-year program, which gives them the academic foundation to successfully complete the LPN or other medical program, Kimpton said. Armed with a "First Year Studies" certificate, LPN hopefuls can then reapply for the practical nursing program.

Danville Regional Medical Center graciously allows DCC’s practical nursing program space in the Gray Street building which also houses DRMC’s registered nursing program, but the two programs are not related.

"We have a very nice working relationship with DRMC. They provide us space and our students do clinicals at the hospital," as well as other facilities, Kimpton said.

"I feel very blessed they allow us to do our clinicals" at DRMC, she added. "We need the acute care experience as well as long-term experience," which can be obtained from Stratford House retirement community or one of the Danville nursing homes.

For LPN students wishing to continue their education and become RNs, there are "bridge programs" available at DRMC. CNAs, LPNs and RNs all play critical roles in the delivery of medical care, and none should be held in less esteem, Kimpton said.

"We all have to work together," said the veteran nurse.

DCC students also perform clinicals at Children’s Health Care, to gain exposure to pediatric patients, Kimpton said.

"I think what makes this program so good is the zest which makes students want to learn and the ability to grow and the capability to change," Kimpton said.

Students who graduate from DCC’s LPN program do not receive preferential treatment for job openings at Danville Regional Medical Center, but many of them do work there, Kimpton said. Conducting their clinicals at the hospital helps students gain invaluable familiarity with the facility, she noted.

In 2001, two men graduated from the LPN program and one of them is working in DRMC’s emergency room, where physical strength can be an asset when dealing with unruly patients.

Of course, some LPNs prefer a different setting from acute-care, and opt to work with older adults in a nursing home, or in home health. Most of Kimpton’s students are in their mid to late 20s, so they are mature enough to know what they want in life.

Still, "we have attrition rates of between 18 and 20 percent," Kimpton said. That level of dropping out simply proves the need for the First Year Studies certificate, she said. "Obviously, we want to increase our graduation rate."

To allow LPN hopefuls a glimpse inside their world of work, student nurses help conduct health fairs in the community. The next health fair, for city of Danville employees, will be held May 10 at the Community Market on Craghead Street, Kimpton said.

The fairs give people simple diagnostics, such as blood pressure and blood sugar tests, for free. If appropriate, they are referred for further medical care. DCC student nurses perform the tests and get to interact with their patients.

"They have a good time," Kimpton said.

While local nursing students are mostly women, Kimpton said more men are choosing nursing as a career. Men are recruited for DCC’s LPN program, she said.

With starting pay around $12 an hour, the career is an attractive option.

"The population is aging, so nursing has grown," Kimpton said.  "The advantage of having an increased need is you have more applicants and you have the ability to select the academically prepared and steer others to become prepared," Kimpton said.

"The LPNs of today have a much more varied role," she continued. The current

shortage of nurses has bolstered the trend of expanding roles.

"With the advent of the nursing shortage, LPNs are going into areas traditionally only RNs occupied," said Kimpton, whose interest in nursing was piqued by caring for her ill mother. She also volunteered as a Candy Striper.

Medical jobs are in great demand, and Kimpton said she predicts the trend will continue for nurses, not just because of the graying of America, but due to the "aging out" of current LPNs. A fresh crop of practical nurses must be ready to step in as the older ones retire.

Kimpton said the new LPNs will have the exciting opportunity to see medicine evolve, as emphasis falls away from curing the ill and the goal becomes overall maintenance of a healthy person -- mind, body and spirit.

For more information about the Practical Nursing program at DCC, call 773-3011, or email Paula Kimpton at pkimpton@dcc.vccs.edu